PRINCETON, Ill., April 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Illinois Rural Community Care Organization (IRCCO) has selected Cerner, a global leader in health care technology, to implement Cerner HealtheIntentSM, its big data and insights platform for population health management, across its accountable care organization (ACO) to coordinate care for Medicare patients throughout the state of Illinois.

“In order to move the needle forward in how we provide care for the Medicare patients of Illinois, we need to work with a health IT company that can take all our clinical and financial data and make it valuable,” said Pat Schou, executive director, Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network. “We think Cerner’s population health solutions will help the doctors and nurses at our member hospitals across the state feel confident in their decision making. Comprehensive and comparative reports, which include information on the care individual patients receive and the overall health of our patients, support the ACO in targeting its strategies to improve the delivery and cost of care by providers.”

Clinicians at IRCCO will have actionable health data at their fingertips to support improved patient care and coordination. Cerner HealtheIntent analyzes medical data across platforms and will support IRCCO clinicians in achieving actionable insights to help engage people beyond the hospital setting and manage health outcomes, with the aim of improving the overall health of the statewide community.

“IRCCO is rising to the significant challenge of providing high-quality health care and services, while reducing overall costs for individuals and rural communities across the state,” said Zane Burke, president, Cerner. “With a population health management approach, IRCCO and Cerner have the opportunity to create a model that can guide other state health consortiums around the country as they attempt to improve care for every person.”

Member hospitals and providers will be able to use Cerner HealtheIntent to identify gaps in care, analyze population and enterprise data, as well as inform clinical decision making. Cerner solutions will be deployed across IRCCO’s ACO, comprised of 24 member hospitals and four independent provider practices, as they work to coordinate and improve care for 20,000 Medicare patients across the state of Illinois.

“Population health management will support IRCCO with actionable insight to help guide care directly in the clinician’s workflow,” said Ryan Hamilton, senior vice president, Population Health, Cerner. “This agreement shows IRCCO and Cerner’s commitment to coordinating care and delivering high-quality services to the patients and communities they serve.”

About Illinois Rural Community Care Organization
The Illinois Rural Community Care Organization (IRCCO) is a statewide accountable care organization comprised of 24 critical access and small rural hospitals committed to working together to decrease individual health costs and improve the local delivery of health care. IRCCO was established in 2014 and approved as a Medicare Shared Savings Program Track 1 in 2015 and again in 2018 which now serves more than 25,000 Medicare beneficiaries. In addition, IRCCO was approved as an IL Blue Cross Blue Shield Shared Savings ACO in 2018 with 21,000 beneficiaries. The Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network manages the ACO and its office is located in Princeton, Illinois.

About Cerner
Cerner’s health technologies connect people and information systems at more than 27,000 contracted provider facilities worldwide dedicated to creating smarter and better care for individuals and communities. Recognized globally for innovation, Cerner assists clinicians in making care decisions and assists organizations in managing the health of their populations. The company also offers an integrated clinical and financial system to help manage day-to-day revenue functions, as well as a wide range of services to support clinical, financial and operational needs, focused on people. For more information, visit Cerner.com, The Cerner Blog or connect on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or The Cerner Podcast. Nasdaq: CERN. Smarter Care. Better Outcomes. Healthier You.